Actuating and locking means for the handles of plier type tools



Jan. 30, 1951 v w. SARVIE ACTUATING AND LOCKING MEANS FOR THE HANDLES 0F PLIER TYPE TOOLS Filed Aug. 24, 1949 Walter Sarw'e IN V EN TOR.

Patented Jan. 30, 1 951 ACTUATING: AND LOCI-HNGUMEANSFOREHEJ HANDLES E PJLIER-TYPE TOOLS WaltenSarvie; Alexandria, Minn;

ApplicationiAugust 24, 1949', SeriallNo.1l2;08ll

3"Clainis: 1 V

This invention relates generally to, tools. and more particularly, to. an actuatinguandlocliing. mechanism .for a pliers. type, tool; the .mechanism being, operativelymounted upon the ends offth'e handles remote from the jaws of the tool; 5

Aiprimary object of this invention is to provide means for. increasing the gripping power of "a pliers typeatool, beyond 'thepower. exerted'by. merely graspingthe.hanclleslof the tool, the instant invention having, means. associated Twit'h' the outer ends .ofithe h'andlesincludihg a lever' and a latch bar which cooperate toallow the tightening, of, the Vgrip of the tool'b'yp actuation of the lever after the toolhas, been initially tightened as much'tas possible by hand grip' pressure applieddifrectly totl'iel'i'an'dlesi Another very importantiobject' of'itliisinven' tion is to provide .means'for' locking'a plierstyp'e" toolso'as to maintain a vise-"like'grin'upon'work compressed betweenthe'jaws'of the tool:

Another object closely alliedto the immediate ly preceding object," is to provide'a locking means such" as "thatalready mentioned and 'whereinthe" actualjlocking 'is'"accomplishednimplyby shift: ing ofa leverftransverselyjof the toolafter the lever has beenipivotedupon alatchplate.

Still another objectof this inve-ntion'isto pro vide an improvedlatnpl'ate; wherein the edges designedtotgrip a. shanhportionofa handi'e of the tool'fare generatedbyp'bbringthelatch plate at a small angle; wh'ereby'adarger diameter here maybe usedtb 'providenrorenearly friction-free movement of the shank portion in unlocked-post tion and greater"gripping action. of the latch plate onth'efshank pprtion when'theflatoh'plate35 is in 'lock'edposition:

Another specific object 'is' to provide simple means "for -maintainin'g1alatch'piate and"actuat= ing leve in proper alig'nnrtntwith each other andwith" a shank'on one ofth'e' handles Yet another "object "isto:" providdsirrple means for unlocking a tool"0f this characterfrom a tightly lockediposition on-a piece-ofwork:

And the 'lastobject tobementioned-specifieally"= is, to' providea tool which isinex-pensi-veand practicabletwmanuia-cturey safe and simple-W0 use; and which will -give' generally efficient and durable service;

With these objects definitely in-view;-this*in-'-- ventionresides-in certain novel features of construction, combination andarrangement of elements and portions as' willbe hereinafter describedlin detail in the specificationgiparticularly pointed out in the appended claims; and. illustrated in the accompanying drawingswhich form a material part of this application, and in which:

Figure'jl is a side elevational'view of a pair-of pliers, a portion o-f-onehandlebeing broken-away in order tosh'ow the-umierlying par-ts more clear lyythe -figureincluding-representation ofa-piecepi work being gripped by the pliers and the handepicted in Figure, 1 but showing the: lever: in: second, position, "as iat ;the;1 time; when: thisaleyer-z" has ,beengshifted. manually :to -further tighten-thew pliers; grip, thellatch; plate in. this\fig11rei;being;i partially broken. away and:theeunderlying.parts; shown invertical,sectiomintorder that the: clined bore therein withitheishanksgrippingedges might 'belfully illustrated; 3

Figure 3. is a' horizontal.sectionalrview taken substantially upon: the line :3-5-3Lin Figure 1 and: showing the lever'in dash lines in.a positionr:in: which one of the flanges onvsaidtlever iszcontactaing a surface of the latchiplat'e; that is; the leve'ifi" has been shiftedi'transverselyito loclethe handles: in fully tightenedposition and:

Figure 4 is a View, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section; designed toshow a simplified modified form of this invention wherein the above-mentioned leveris-deleted.

Similar characters of reference designate Sim-i lar or identical elements and portionsthroughout l the specification and" throughout'thedifferent views in the drawings;

Referring now to the drawings in detai1,.t

invention includes a pli'erstype tool-represented as having apair' of opposing jaws l G and i 2 in tegral with handles l l and I6, respecti-vel'y; and pivoted together'bya'pivot-pinl8, according to conventional practice.

The handle l l has-an end portion ZiiWhichmay be broadened as best illustratedin Figure 3*- and which is provided with'a stepped aperture 22. The end portion 20 has what may b'e -termed a terminal- 24 extending substantially right-"arrgularly with the handle l4; whilethe handIe -IS is provided with a, shank 26; preferablycircular in cross-section and curved slightlyy with th'e center of curvature" approximately coinciding" with the pivot pinl8, and it will'be'noted that the shanlrZfi extends toward-:and'beyond that handle I 4" and passesxth'rough ':thestepped"aper= ture 22.

in the same general "direction as the end portion" 2i1'of said one handle; and'that the shiank 2B,? passes through the "bore3'flf The 'latchpIatehaS f an extension 32 passing through and beyond a slot 34 in the terminal 24. The latch plate 28 is biased in one direction by a spring 35 arranged coaxially of the adjacent portion of the shank 26 and seated with one end within the stepped aperture 22 and the other end in frictional contact with the adjacent surface of the latch plate 28.

An actuating lever 38 also has an extending portion 46 reaching through the slot 34 and engaging the extension 32 of the latch plate. Any simple means such as the 'C-shaped clip 42 will be used to retain the extension 32 in connection with the extending portion 40, the C-shaped clip 42 allowing limited but sufiicient pivotal movement of the lever in one direction relative to the latch plate 28 and also allowing shifting of the lever 38 in a transverse direction. This shifting of the lever in a transverse direction is used in looking the lever in position after the tightening process has been completed, and a pair of flanges 44, integral with 'the lever 38, are provided to enable the operator to lock the lever 33 by pivotally shifting the lever transversely into the position indicated in dash line in Figure 3, with one of the flanges 44 engaging the adjacent surface of the latch plate 28. In order to allow this transverse movement of the leverv 38, the bore 46 in the lever is of a larger diameter than the diameter of the shank 26.

In Figure 4, a modified and simplified embodiment of this invention, or possibly better considered a portion of this invention, is illustrated. In this embodiment, the lever 38 is entirely deleted and the latch plate 48 is elongated to facilitate the manual operation thereof, as in the unlocking of the latch plate to release the handle. It will also be noted that the slot 56 is reduced since there is no need to accommodate the lever 38. The device illustrated in Figure 4 is essentialy a part of the device illustrated in the other figures, the locking action being accomplished by the apparatus illustrated in Figure 4 but the actuating of the handles being accomplished by hand-grip pressure on the handles directly.

The operation of this invention will be clearly understood from a consideration of the foregoing description of the mechanical details thereof, taken in connection with the drawings and with the above recited objects. I recapitulation, it may be noted that work represented at 52 in Figure 1 will be reasonably tightly gripped between the jaws Ill and 12 when the handles l4 and I6 are pressed together by hand. Further tightening upon the work 52 is accomplished by shifting the lever 38, as upwardly about its pivotal connection with the extension 32 of the latch plate, into the position indicated in Figure 2 and finally into the position indicated in dash line in Figure 3 to lock the pliers in completely tightened position. The advantages of the inclined bore 30 will now be obvious. In releasing the pliers, the lever 38 is used to move the latch plate against the action of the spring 36 and is normally limited in such movement by the handle M which serves as a stop so that the shank 26 is free to slide through the bore 30.

The inclined bore 30 retains the advantage of a small transverse bore in that the spacing of the gripping edges transversely of the shank is actually decreased, when the latch plate is in shank gripping position, while the advantage of a larger transverse bore is retained because a wide clearance between these edges and the shank is provided when the clutch plate is in released position.

Minor variations from the disclosed embodiment may be made without departure from the spirit of the invention, the limits of which are defined in the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. An actuating and locking mechanism for a pliers type tool having a pair of handles, comprising an end portion on one handle having an aperture, a curved shank on the end of the other handle extending through said aperture, a terminal member on said end portion, a latch plate having a bore receiving said shank and gripping said shank when the latch plate is tilted in one direction, said latch plate having an extension on the side of said terminal remote from said shank, a lever pivoted on said extension for movement in two directions, an intermediate portion of said lever engaging said terminal to move said terminal relative to the latch plate in a direction toward said other handle when the lever is moved toward said other handle, a spring to bias the latch plate to pivot toward said other handle to grip said shank, aid flange engaging said latch plate when said lever is moved toward said other handle and then moved transversely or the 2. An actuating and locking mechanism for the handles of a pliers type tool, comprising a terminal on one handle extending toward the other handle and having a slot therein, a latch plate having an inclined bore with sharp terminal edges and an extension protruding through said slot, a lever having a flange and a portion extending through said slot, a curved shank on the end of the other handle extending toward and beyond said one handle, said shank extending through said bore in said latch plate, a spring compressed between said latch plate and said one handle to' bias said latch plate into a position with said sharp edges gripping said shank, said lever when shifted in one direction engaging said terminal at the end of said slot therein to move said one handle toward the other handle, said flange on the lever when moved in a transverse dilection locking said handles against reverse relative movement.

3. Actuating and locking mechanism for the handles of a pliers type tool, comprising a terminal on the end of one handle, said terminal having a slot, a curved shank on the end of the other handle extending toward and beyond said one handle, means operatively connected with said shank and comprised of a latch plate and a lever having one end of each extending through the slot in said terminal, said lever engaging the terminal at the end or said slot therein to move said one handle toward the other handle when the lever is pivoted into one position about a fulcrum on said one end of the latch plate, and a flange on said lever on the side thereof adjacent said latch plate whereby the lever can be locked in said position.

WALTER SARVIE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Heinrich Jan. 15, 1946 

